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Taking Scouting to new heights!

1. Ago 2007

The Scouts and Guides of France from the Savoie districts have challenged themselves for the celebration of the Scouting Centenary: they have decided to renew their promise at the top of the Mont-Blanc. They have planned to get there on the 1st of August, after 3 days of climbing, so as to celebrate Scouting's Sunrise on the highest peak of Europe.

The idea came from a World Scout Bureau initiative, asking all Scouts and former Scouts to renew their Scouting vow on the morning of the 1st of August, on the anniversary of the first Scout camp organised by Baden-Powell. Each Scout Group will organise an event to celebrate this unique day on the culminating peak of its territory. This is more easily said than done, as here, it's the Mont-Blanc (4807m altitude).

As if this wasn't enough, the organisers decided that, as Scouting is a Youth Movement, the hiking team would have to be made up of a majority of young people under eighteen years of age.

The first task was therefore to build the team, made up of 6 pioneers, 6 leaders and 4 family members or former Scouting friends, accompanied by 8 Mountain Guides, taking care of the training and accompanying all the participants, under the leadership of Patrick Gabarou and François Viret.

The whole team met for the first time this weekend in Chamonix, to try out the equipment (kindly loaned by Quechua, the event's sponsor) and to start training, which is key to ensuring the success of such an endeavor, by hiking on the Ice Sea.

Edudardo Missoni with the team from Les Scouts et Guides de France that will climb Mt Blanc to commemorate the Centenary of Scouting.

During this first preparatory weekend, they received the visit of Eduardo Missoni, Secretary General of the World Organisation of the Scout Movement (WOSM), who had come to encourage them in their endeavor and to give them the World Scouting Flag, which they will wave on the 1st of August at the top of the Mont-Blanc. Juliette, 15 years old, pioneer of the Chamonix group and youngest member of the team, received the flag during a short ceremony, in presence of Guillaume Légaut, president of the Scouts and Guides of France, also participating in the expedition.

The only black point in this blue sky is the financing of this project, which isn't completely secured. This is the reason why the group thought of producing a commemorative badge, in a limited edition (240 badges, 1 for each participant and 1 for each of the 216 countries and territories where Scouting is represented).

This badge, strictly for participants, will be sent to all donors at the end of the climb.

If you would like more information on how to support this project and/or how to get the commemorative badge, please contact frederic.touihrat@free.fr.